Jenessa wrote about our Thanksgiving Day service and I loved hearing it in her own words:
For my project I wanted to do something special. I thought doing it on a holiday would make the project even more meaningful. What I decided to do was to deliver meals to the poor on Thanksgiving. My whole family ended up going, and it turned out to be a wonderful experience. At around 11 o’clock on the morning of Thanksgiving my family headed to Salt Lake City. I was really excited for what we were about to be doing for others. I was hoping to learn something from this experience.
The organization we were doing the service project through was Salvation Army. When we got there we had to wait in a long line, because many people were also lined up to serve others on this day. When it was our turn, we grabbed about 5 meals a person. We had to load up a plate of food. The food that we were going to serve to them was just about everything that made up a Thanksgiving meal. There was turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, rolls, and even a pumpkin pie. Everyone seemed to be really happy and ready to serve.
After getting all the meals we needed, we put them all in the trunk of our car, and drove all around the valley to deliver these meals to those who were less fortunate than ourselves. Some were up in Ogden, and some in Sandy. One family I went to did not speak a word of English. We got to their shabby looking apartment, and knocked on the door. A young girl, around 18 or 19 answered the door. Following her up to the door were five little children, all with big, brown eyes. I felt sorry for all of them. It must have been difficult for the girl to have so many children. There was no husband in sight. We told her to have a good Thanksgiving, even though she didn’t understand us. Then, we set the meals on the small table and left.
Another house we delivered the meals to was in Draper. This was the smallest, dirtiest, saddest, run-down house I have ever been in. The woman had about six yapping dogs in her tiny yard, and the house looked like a shack. We went around to the side of the house were the door was. Outside of the house were old televisions, lamps, sofas, you name it. This woman was a hoarder. She wouldn’t throw anything away. When we got inside, the house smelled of smoke. The wood floors were rotting. The woman had only two children that I knew of. One of them was a little autistic boy wearing superman footy pajamas. He was really cute and was very thankful to receive the meals.
Seeing these people and how they lived was an amazing experience for me. Doing this service on Thanksgiving made it even more special. These people taught me to be more thankful for what I have been given. I have been given so much. I know now that some people are carrying many burdens and have many hardships. We should try to do more to lift the burdens of the poor and needy by helping and serving them. Doing this service taught me so much. It made that Thanksgiving the best one I have ever had.
